Opposable Thumbs —

PlayStation 3 firmware update brings Blu-ray 2.0 home

Sony is ready to update the PlayStation 3's firmware once again, this time …

The PlayStation 3, with its powerful hardware, hard drive, and Ethernet connection, is one of the few completely future-proof Blu-ray players on the market. We've described what the new Blu-Ray 2.0 spec will add to the format, and Ars saw the update in action at CES. Now it's official: the 2.0 spec, called "BD-Live" will be coming to the PS3 in the next few days via the firmware 2.20 update.

"Whether you want to download movie extras, send ringtones to your phone, or play interactive games, BD-LIVE will offer exciting new ways to enjoy a Blu-ray movie. With these regular firmware updates and future-proofed technology, SCEA is making the 10-year lifecycle of PS3 possible," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA.

The new features BD Live offers include downloadable content that can be pushed to other mobile devices, such as ringtones, as well as interactive games that can be played online. Trivia games are one possibility for this feature, although at CES FOX was showing off a shooting game that you play while watching Aliens vs. Predator. Picture-in-picture will also now be supported by BD-Live titles.

Other updates to the PlayStation 3 include:

The ability to copy PS3 Music and Photo playlists to a PSP system.
We introduced the ability to create Music and Photo playlists on the
PS3 in firmware update v2.0. Now you can easily export your playlists to your PSP.

You can now play DivX and WMV format files that are over 2 GB.

Resume Play: begin playing a DVD or BD disc from the point where
you previously stopped it, even if you eject the disc and insert a
different movie or game.

Use your PSP as a remote control to play back your music files on your PS3 without turning on your TV.

The Internet browser now displays some web pages faster. In
addition [Save Target] has been added as an option under file. This
option lets you save a file that is linked to a web page to your PS3
hard drive or storage media.

These are all great features for the PlayStation 3, and should make existing owners very happy about their investment. While BD-Live titles will play in Blu-ray players that won't be able to upgraded to the 2.0 spec, users will miss out on some of the bonus features. While the splintering of the user base is somewhat problematic, and stickers will be needed on discs released from now on to denote which spec is needed to enjoy what features, the maturation and expansion of the format will give studios even more ways for people to interact with their favorite properties.

This update is supposed to hit in the next few days. We'll be keeping our eyes open.